Oxidative stress is a major pathogenesis of some ocular surface diseases. Our previous study demonstrated that epidermal growth factor (EGF)-activated reactive oxygen species (ROS) could protect against human corneal epithelial cell (HCE) injury. In the present study, we aimed to explore the role and mechanisms of oxidative stress and mitochondrial autophagy in HCE cells subjected to scratch injury. CCK-8 assays, EdU assays, Western blot analysis, wound-healing assays, and flow cytometry were conducted to determine cell viability, proliferation, protein expression, cell apoptosis, and intracellular ROS levels, respectively. The results showed that EGF could promote damage repair and inhibit cell apoptosis in scratch injured HCE cells by upregulating ROS (**p? less then ?.01, ***p? less then ?.001). EGF also induced mitochondrial autophagy and alleviated mitochondrial damage. Interestingly, the combination of the mitochondrial autophagy inhibitor and mitochondrial division inhibitor 1 (MDIVI-1) with EGF could reduce cell proliferation, viability, and the ROS level (*p? less then ?.05, **p? less then ?.01, ***p? less then ?.001). Treatment using the ROS inhibitor N-acetyl- l-cysteine abrogated the increase in mitochondrial membrane potential after EGF treatment. (*p? less then ?.05). Taken together, these findings indicated that EGF plays an important role in HCE damage repair and could activate ROS to protect against HCE injury by inducing mitochondrial autophagy via activation of TRPM2. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Cyclic neutropenia (CyN) is a hematologic disorder in which peripheral blood absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs) show cycles of approximately 21-day intervals. The majority of CyN patients harbor ELANE mutations, but the mechanism of ANC cycling is unclear. We performed analysis of bone marrow (BM) subpopulations in CyN patients at the peak and the nadir of the ANC cycle and detected high proportions of BM hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) at the nadir of the ANC cycle, as compared with the peak. BM HSPCs produced fewer granulocyte colony-forming unit colonies at the ANC peak. To investigate the mechanism of cycling, we found that mRNA expression levels of ELANE and unfolded protein response (UPR)-related genes (ATF6, BiP (HSPA5), CHOP (DDIT3), and PERK (EIF2AK3)) were elevated, but antiapoptotic genes (Bcl-2 (BCL2) and bcl-xL (BCL2L1)) were reduced in CD34+ cells tested at the ANC nadir. Moreover, HSPCs revealed increased levels of reactive oxygen species and gH2AX at the ANC nadir. We suggest that in CyN patients, some HSPCs escape the UPR-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and proliferate in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to a certain threshold at which UPR again affects the majority of HSPCs. There is a cyclic balance between ER stress-induced apoptosis of HSPCs and compensatory G-CSF-stimulated HSPC proliferation followed by granulocytic differentiation. © 2020 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences.Models of plant-plant interactions underpin our understanding of species coexistence, invasive plant impacts and plant community responses to climate change. In recent studies, models of competitive interactions failed predictive tests, thereby casting doubt on results of many past studies. We believe these model failures owe at least partly to heterogeneity in unmodelled factors (e.g. nutrients, soil pathogens) that affect both target plants and neighboring competitors. Such heterogeneity is ubiquitous, and models that do not account for it will suffer omitted variable bias. We used instrumental variables analysis to test for and correct omitted variable bias in studies that followed common protocols for measuring plant competition. In an observational study, omitted variables caused competition to seem like mutualism. In a quasi-experiment that partially controlled competitor abundances with seeding, omitted variables caused competition to seem about 35% weaker than it really was, even though the experiment occurred in an abandoned agricultural field where environmental heterogeneity was expected to be relatively low. Despite decades of research, consistently accurate estimates of competitive interactions remain elusive. The most foolproof way around this problem is true experiments that avoid omitted variable bias by completely controlling competitor abundances, but such experiments are rare. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND Engagement in services to support healthy weight management during pregnancy is poor. A better understanding of those who attend is important in supporting women to participate in preventative health services. AIMS This retrospective observational study aimed to report attendance rates of pregnant women with obesity (body mass index (BMI)&nbsp;?&nbsp;30&nbsp;kg/m2 ) referred to a dietitian between 2012 and 2018 for weight management and describe who was referred and attended. MATERIALS AND METHODS Demographic, attendance and medical data for women with obesity who were either referred to a dietitian or were not referred were sourced from hospital data. Chi-squared and t-tests were used to compare groups. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify characteristics associated with attendance within the referred group. RESULTS Of 5426 eligible women, 523 were referred to the dietitian, and 4903 women were not referred (Total sample 29&nbsp;±&nbsp;6&nbsp;years, 39.0&nbsp;±&nbsp;2.1&nbsp;weeks gestation at birth). Referred women self-reported a 6.7&nbsp;kg/m2 higher pre-pregnancy BMI, 7% more were subsequently diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and 9% more were induced (P&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001) indicating a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Referred women attended a median (range) of 2 (0-8) appointments. The majority (78%) attended ?1 appointment, and 41% attended ?3 appointments. Women referred by a midwife (65%) or diagnosed with GDM were 1.9 and 3.0 times more likely to attend, respectively (P&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.01). Being a smoker was negatively associated with attendance (odds ratio 0.388, P&nbsp; less then &nbsp;0.001). CONCLUSIONS Pregnant women with obesity referred for dietetic weight management appear at higher risk of adverse outcomes, with most attending ?1 appointment. Engaging midwives in promoting referrals may increase attendance. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/triparanol-mer-29.html © 2020 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.